you gotta have a plan everybody’s got a
dream
everybody’s got a goal what’s the plan
and your plan has got to have something
I call the c5 complex your plan has got
to be clear concise compelling
consistent and committed you’ve got to
have a plan and when you’re trying to do
something that you are truly passionate
about there is no plan B okay Plan B
sucks all right okay
so it’s as simple as that you gotta have
a plan I mean think about that for a
second mm-hmm three examples Michael
Jordan won six NBA championships with
the Chicago Bulls because he was
committed to playing a not plan B Oprah
Winfrey became the queen of all media
because she was committed to plan a not
Plan B whatever your politics are Barack
Obama is sitting in the White House
because he was committed to plan a not
Plan B okay Plan B sucks when you’re
asleep ladies and gentlemen you need
your dreams I’m here to tell you that
when you’re wide awake you also need
your dreams you must have your goals
you’ll never make it as a wandering
generality you must become a meaningful
specific if you’re going to work
tomorrow because that’s what you did
yesterday you’re not going to be as good
tomorrow as you are yesterday because
now you’re two days older and no closer
to the gold which you do not have you
can’t make it as a wandering generality
you can’t give away what you don’t have
now it sounds ridiculous okay
but it’s more than what meets the ear as
you hear this you can’t give away what
you don’t have people who are not good
at giving away love can’t give away love
because they don’t have it to give away
if I want to give you a dozen oranges I
can’t give you those dozen oranges
unless I go out and pick up 12 oranges
someplace otherwise all it is is just
empty rhetoric
and the same thing is true of virtually
everything in your life you can’t give
away love for others if you don’t have
love in here to give away if what you
have in here is contempt if what you
have in here is anger if you haven’t
here is fear then these are the things
you’re going to be giving away in your
life made in my mind as a young guy I
wanted to become world-class at
something I just had to find out what
that something was going to be and the
very first time that I walked into a
Wall Street trading room I knew this is
it the ticker tape is rolling
the phones are ringing off the hook
people are screaming and shouting out
orders bodies are flying all over the
place and will look like chaos to
anybody else I could see the natural
rhythm in it it was like I was reading a
sheet of music and I knew this is where
I’m supposed to be I kept coming back I
wore one branch manager down to the
point that he says to me Gardner based
on persistence alone we gonna give you a
shot man I quit my job that was all I
wanted I went home and I told my ex you
know what you said I couldn’t do it but
guess what I started two weeks well I
sold heavy-duty waterless cookware on
the door the door demonstration plan and
that was a marvelous experience it took
me the first two and a half years I
struggled financially now that doesn’t
mean I didn’t sell a lot because I did I
saw my furniture so I’m a car and that’s
fairly close to the truth it really was
then I went to a meeting and a man named
PC Merrill who’s an American Indian
persuaded me that I could be the number
one salesman in America out of the 7,000
member sales force he said you’ve got
everything that it takes to be a great
salesman
if you just believe in yourself and went
to work on a regular schedule and this
is a cookware business that’s right okay
now put on the demonstration
door-to-door sales and so forth I never
had anybody say something like that to
me you could be a great when you could
be the national champion now I’ve always
been loved
but nobody ever thought of me as a
champion because of mr. Merrill’s
integrity and because he had written the
training program and because he had said
all of the records I took him absolutely
at his word the previous year I had not
been in the top 5,000 out of that 7,000
member sales force but the year after
mr. Merrill got through with me I was
number two out of the 7,000 had received
the best promotion that that was
available in the company at that time
and the interesting thing about the
success that year he did not really
teach me that much about sales I’d been
in at two and a half years at that point
but what he did teach me was about who I
was the picture ahead of myself change
dramatically asked I started thinking as
a champion and performing as a champion
and I did finish number two and had that
wonderful promotion Who I am
not only what I have but Who I am is
what I do what I accomplish and so we
spend a big hunk of our lives believing
that the way that we become quote
successful happy fulfilled self
actualized whatever it might be is on
the basis of what I accomplished what my
resume looks like how many promotions I
get and so we send our children off to
school and we ask them to learn to
identify themselves on how much they get
and what they accomplish your grades
become more important than what it is
that you are studying what you own what
clothes you wear what labels you have
and so on and we become obsessed with
this kind of absurdity and we this is
the false self at work too many of us
for a long time have confused our net
worth and our self-worth
your net worth is going to fluctuate
it’s going to go up and down that’s what
money does but your self-worth should
not who you are what’s important to you
how you live your values should never be
negotiable compromised and should never
settle again we have gotten to this
point where we’ve got to say to
ourselves
my net worth is not my self-worth if you
made a commitment when you hit the rough
spots not if when you hit the rough
spots your immediate thought is how can
I solve the problem if you’ve not made
the commitment when you hit the rough
spot whether it’s in marriage or
education or career or whatever your
first thought is man how can I get out
of this deal and so that commit that
plays a huge role and is you know some
people are about as committed as a
kamikaze pilot on his 39th mission I
mean they don’t really take it that
seriously there are many ways to get the
things that we want for ourselves in our
lives but basically it all begins with
how we choose to think as you think so
shall you be seven little words that I
think are perhaps the most important
things that we can learn and master in
our lives
this old proverb notion that I become
what I think about all day long and once
you know that what you think about is
what expands you start getting real
careful about what you think about you
don’t allow your thoughts to be on
anything that you don’t want or that you
wouldn’t want to have manifest or show
up for you in your life baby steps count
– as long as you’re going forward and
one day you had all those baby steps up
in you might be surprised at where you
can get to but more importantly I
remember something my mom used to say to
me every day she would say son the
cavalry ain’t coming you got to do this
yourself ain’t no backup
okay and when you put those two things
together man it wasn’t as hard to keep
going forward as you might think it’s
raised in a little town of Yazoo City
Mississippi now I know a lot of folks go
around the country trying to impress
when I was a boy during the Depression
we live next door to some rich folks I
knew they are rich for two reason their
morning had a cook number two the cook
had something to cook during the
Depression that was a sure sign of
wealth I was over there for lunch one
day as I tried to be every day and don’t
misunderstand that even though there was
a depression on we certainly had plenty
to eat at my house I know we had plenty
because forever past my place for second
said always tell me know you’ve had
plenty so I know we had plenty
now the cook brought the biscuits out in
this is not an exaggeration those
biscuits were not as thick as my wrist
was and I looked at it for a moment I
said Martin the world happened to you
biscuits she read back gave a big old
tummy lap and said well I’ll tell you
about those biscuits she said they
squatted to rise cooked well you know
wait the kids get out of school and then
I’ll really get involved in this project
we got so many things going on right now
Whateley out of scaley summertime comes
in and all really good busy the kids get
out of school you know what to say then
well you know I didn’t realize if they
had to take the kids somewhere every day
I had more time when they’re in school
lately getting back in school and then I
really get busy kids get back into you
know what they say then well you know
for the first time in 19 years dear old
centralized finally got a win in
football TV and you got to support their
kids that way laughter the football
season is over then I’ll really get busy
football scene then you know what they
say then well here it is Thanksgiving
and Christmas and New Year’s
people don’t want to be bothered with
this sort of thing this time here wait
laughs to the first of the year man that
I really get busy after the first year
you know what they say well it’s the win
thing
did you ever see weather like this in
Chicago or San Francisco or Dallas or
wherever Whateley weather settles down
and then I’ll really get busy oh I know
what you’re thinking you’re thinking
I’ve lost eight percent but that’s not
the way I do they didn’t if you’re
interested in mmm take the way I do
see the way I do things is I get
everything organized I get it lined up I
have everything in just such and such
order and then man once I get it all put
together that’s when I really get after
I mean that’s just the way I’ve always
been that way do things that way I know
some of these other folks are hit on me
right now but you just wait I’ll catch
them but this weather it is just so well
here it is it’s Easter time and the
Easter time you know that’s the family
time and we always spend a lot of time
together and you said so yourself the
family is extremely important to you do
they work for the family and we can’t
spend some time with them you might as
well not do all the work I mean wait
laughs tracers over then I’ll really get
busy and then after you know what they
say at long last we’ve got some
beautiful weather and I haven’t hit a
golf ball or weather hook and I don’t
know when man I gotta have some R&R I
gotta have some rest and relaxation and
you know you said you can’t work all the
time I mean an individual needs some
time with himself
wait’ll I relax a little bit of man then
I really get after it and finally they
get after a little bit you know or when
they have the fun and relaxation then
they say well it’s almost time for the
kids to get out of school and that’s
where we came in as we’d say down-home
folks you can put this in your pipe and
smoke it cause it’s the truth
the people who wait for ain’t Mathilda
to move out or John to get on the
day-shift are the new models to come out
are the new mayor to come in are for the
new advertising campaign to get started
the people who wait on the new senator
in Washington are until inflation slows
are the rate of interest come down the
people who wait for changes to take
place out there before they do the
changin in here our flat gonna end up
getting cooked in the squat
rule is simple you do it now you do it
now have a mind that is open to
everything and attached to nothing one
of the central principles of my life is
that no one knows enough to be a
pessimist about anything and that each
and every one of us when we close our
mind to what is possible for us or what
is possible for Humanity closes off the
genius that resides and lives in each
and every one of us having an open mind
doesn’t necessarily mean finding fault
with all of the things that you’ve been
taught by others it means opening
yourself up to the potentiality and the
possibility that anything and everything
is possible so having a mind that is
open to everything and attached to
nothing really means finding within
ourselves the ability to get rid of a
trait that I find so common in
contemporary in the contemporary world
do you know that most people that I meet
spend their lives looking for occasions
they actually are app out there hoping
that they can find some reason to be
offended and there’s no shortage of
reasons they’re out there everywhere the
way this person dressed of what the
worst person said they turn on their TV
they hear the news are offended by this
someone didn’t someone use language that
they didn’t like someone doesn’t share
the same customs at you and people
all day long in fact if you keep track
tomorrow you will find probably a
hundred reasons that you can go around
being offended but a mind that is open
to everything and attached to nothing is
a mind that says I’m never looking for
anything to be offended by and that
whatever anybody else out there has to
say my response to that is that’s an
interesting point of view I’ve never
considered that before how many of you
feel like I’ve made this talk before can
I see your hand please
several hundred times I made it
yesterday you know what I did between
yesterday and today I spent over six
hours getting ready for today you see I
think it would be arrogant if I thought
I could stand up and spit it out just
because I did it yesterday are hundreds
of times that’s arrogance that’s when
Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson
that’s when an expansion team in Houston
beats an established NFL team in Dallas
look at the people here several thousand
I’m taking over an hour – that’s several
why would my integrity be if I came here
unprepared to make something a
presentation that could make a
difference in your life there is no way
you gotta prepare for it ladies and
gentlemen well now that we can see how
short life really can be what are you
gonna do with the rest of your life
that’s the biggest trigger that I have
ever experienced what are you gonna do
the rest of your life and what I had to
do so I had to start taking some of my
own advice I have been telling people I
had written about it for a very long
time that if you’re doing something that
you’re not totally committed to if
you’re doing something that you’re not
totally passionate about you’re
compromising yourself every day I was
presentable but I wore the same two
suits I had two suits man that I had to
wear every day for a year one blue one
grape the joke around the office started
oh that’s Chris garden that he’s
reenacting the silver war some days with
almost did not go to the most important
sales meeting I would ever have missed
that’s that morning I awakened I’d been
up there in Charlotte all day long at a
meeting it didn’t learn anything five
o’clock the alarm clock goes off and it
was an alarm clock in those days now
it’s an opportunity clock if I’m here
that means I’ve got an opportunity to
get up and go if I can’t hear that
minute done got up and gone we’ll anyhow
when off we were living in little three
room apartment above a grocery store
five o’clock well it was horrible
when the clock went off you know I
looked at and I said no sane person
would ever get a little Crosley
automobile without a heater in weather
like this and drive all the way to
Charlotte to go to another meeting so I
lay back down as I lay down the words of
my mother came back to me son if you
work for a man you work for him all the
way you’re loyal to him in every
and if your word is no good you’re no
good I had promised this company which
had taken me two months to get the job
that if they would give me the
opportunity I’d be at ever sales meeting
I’d be there were training session and
in two and a half years despite my lack
of success I’ve been at every sales
meeting at every training session and
I’ve never even been late the words that
my mother came back I rolled out of bed
went to the meeting that’s the one that
changed my life how did it change your
life what it changed my life because
that’s the day that mr. marrow persuaded
me that I could be the champion circle
oh man it sure did and so it made all the difference in the world
dream
everybody’s got a goal what’s the plan
and your plan has got to have something
I call the c5 complex your plan has got
to be clear concise compelling
consistent and committed you’ve got to
have a plan and when you’re trying to do
something that you are truly passionate
about there is no plan B okay Plan B
sucks all right okay
so it’s as simple as that you gotta have
a plan I mean think about that for a
second mm-hmm three examples Michael
Jordan won six NBA championships with
the Chicago Bulls because he was
committed to playing a not plan B Oprah
Winfrey became the queen of all media
because she was committed to plan a not
Plan B whatever your politics are Barack
Obama is sitting in the White House
because he was committed to plan a not
Plan B okay Plan B sucks when you’re
asleep ladies and gentlemen you need
your dreams I’m here to tell you that
when you’re wide awake you also need
your dreams you must have your goals
you’ll never make it as a wandering
generality you must become a meaningful
specific if you’re going to work
tomorrow because that’s what you did
yesterday you’re not going to be as good
tomorrow as you are yesterday because
now you’re two days older and no closer
to the gold which you do not have you
can’t make it as a wandering generality
you can’t give away what you don’t have
now it sounds ridiculous okay
but it’s more than what meets the ear as
you hear this you can’t give away what
you don’t have people who are not good
at giving away love can’t give away love
because they don’t have it to give away
if I want to give you a dozen oranges I
can’t give you those dozen oranges
unless I go out and pick up 12 oranges
someplace otherwise all it is is just
empty rhetoric
and the same thing is true of virtually
everything in your life you can’t give
away love for others if you don’t have
love in here to give away if what you
have in here is contempt if what you
have in here is anger if you haven’t
here is fear then these are the things
you’re going to be giving away in your
life made in my mind as a young guy I
wanted to become world-class at
something I just had to find out what
that something was going to be and the
very first time that I walked into a
Wall Street trading room I knew this is
it the ticker tape is rolling
the phones are ringing off the hook
people are screaming and shouting out
orders bodies are flying all over the
place and will look like chaos to
anybody else I could see the natural
rhythm in it it was like I was reading a
sheet of music and I knew this is where
I’m supposed to be I kept coming back I
wore one branch manager down to the
point that he says to me Gardner based
on persistence alone we gonna give you a
shot man I quit my job that was all I
wanted I went home and I told my ex you
know what you said I couldn’t do it but
guess what I started two weeks well I
sold heavy-duty waterless cookware on
the door the door demonstration plan and
that was a marvelous experience it took
me the first two and a half years I
struggled financially now that doesn’t
mean I didn’t sell a lot because I did I
saw my furniture so I’m a car and that’s
fairly close to the truth it really was
then I went to a meeting and a man named
PC Merrill who’s an American Indian
persuaded me that I could be the number
one salesman in America out of the 7,000
member sales force he said you’ve got
everything that it takes to be a great
salesman
if you just believe in yourself and went
to work on a regular schedule and this
is a cookware business that’s right okay
now put on the demonstration
door-to-door sales and so forth I never
had anybody say something like that to
me you could be a great when you could
be the national champion now I’ve always
been loved
but nobody ever thought of me as a
champion because of mr. Merrill’s
integrity and because he had written the
training program and because he had said
all of the records I took him absolutely
at his word the previous year I had not
been in the top 5,000 out of that 7,000
member sales force but the year after
mr. Merrill got through with me I was
number two out of the 7,000 had received
the best promotion that that was
available in the company at that time
and the interesting thing about the
success that year he did not really
teach me that much about sales I’d been
in at two and a half years at that point
but what he did teach me was about who I
was the picture ahead of myself change
dramatically asked I started thinking as
a champion and performing as a champion
and I did finish number two and had that
wonderful promotion Who I am
not only what I have but Who I am is
what I do what I accomplish and so we
spend a big hunk of our lives believing
that the way that we become quote
successful happy fulfilled self
actualized whatever it might be is on
the basis of what I accomplished what my
resume looks like how many promotions I
get and so we send our children off to
school and we ask them to learn to
identify themselves on how much they get
and what they accomplish your grades
become more important than what it is
that you are studying what you own what
clothes you wear what labels you have
and so on and we become obsessed with
this kind of absurdity and we this is
the false self at work too many of us
for a long time have confused our net
worth and our self-worth
your net worth is going to fluctuate
it’s going to go up and down that’s what
money does but your self-worth should
not who you are what’s important to you
how you live your values should never be
negotiable compromised and should never
settle again we have gotten to this
point where we’ve got to say to
ourselves
my net worth is not my self-worth if you
made a commitment when you hit the rough
spots not if when you hit the rough
spots your immediate thought is how can
I solve the problem if you’ve not made
the commitment when you hit the rough
spot whether it’s in marriage or
education or career or whatever your
first thought is man how can I get out
of this deal and so that commit that
plays a huge role and is you know some
people are about as committed as a
kamikaze pilot on his 39th mission I
mean they don’t really take it that
seriously there are many ways to get the
things that we want for ourselves in our
lives but basically it all begins with
how we choose to think as you think so
shall you be seven little words that I
think are perhaps the most important
things that we can learn and master in
our lives
this old proverb notion that I become
what I think about all day long and once
you know that what you think about is
what expands you start getting real
careful about what you think about you
don’t allow your thoughts to be on
anything that you don’t want or that you
wouldn’t want to have manifest or show
up for you in your life baby steps count
– as long as you’re going forward and
one day you had all those baby steps up
in you might be surprised at where you
can get to but more importantly I
remember something my mom used to say to
me every day she would say son the
cavalry ain’t coming you got to do this
yourself ain’t no backup
okay and when you put those two things
together man it wasn’t as hard to keep
going forward as you might think it’s
raised in a little town of Yazoo City
Mississippi now I know a lot of folks go
around the country trying to impress
when I was a boy during the Depression
we live next door to some rich folks I
knew they are rich for two reason their
morning had a cook number two the cook
had something to cook during the
Depression that was a sure sign of
wealth I was over there for lunch one
day as I tried to be every day and don’t
misunderstand that even though there was
a depression on we certainly had plenty
to eat at my house I know we had plenty
because forever past my place for second
said always tell me know you’ve had
plenty so I know we had plenty
now the cook brought the biscuits out in
this is not an exaggeration those
biscuits were not as thick as my wrist
was and I looked at it for a moment I
said Martin the world happened to you
biscuits she read back gave a big old
tummy lap and said well I’ll tell you
about those biscuits she said they
squatted to rise cooked well you know
wait the kids get out of school and then
I’ll really get involved in this project
we got so many things going on right now
Whateley out of scaley summertime comes
in and all really good busy the kids get
out of school you know what to say then
well you know I didn’t realize if they
had to take the kids somewhere every day
I had more time when they’re in school
lately getting back in school and then I
really get busy kids get back into you
know what they say then well you know
for the first time in 19 years dear old
centralized finally got a win in
football TV and you got to support their
kids that way laughter the football
season is over then I’ll really get busy
football scene then you know what they
say then well here it is Thanksgiving
and Christmas and New Year’s
people don’t want to be bothered with
this sort of thing this time here wait
laughs to the first of the year man that
I really get busy after the first year
you know what they say well it’s the win
thing
did you ever see weather like this in
Chicago or San Francisco or Dallas or
wherever Whateley weather settles down
and then I’ll really get busy oh I know
what you’re thinking you’re thinking
I’ve lost eight percent but that’s not
the way I do they didn’t if you’re
interested in mmm take the way I do
see the way I do things is I get
everything organized I get it lined up I
have everything in just such and such
order and then man once I get it all put
together that’s when I really get after
I mean that’s just the way I’ve always
been that way do things that way I know
some of these other folks are hit on me
right now but you just wait I’ll catch
them but this weather it is just so well
here it is it’s Easter time and the
Easter time you know that’s the family
time and we always spend a lot of time
together and you said so yourself the
family is extremely important to you do
they work for the family and we can’t
spend some time with them you might as
well not do all the work I mean wait
laughs tracers over then I’ll really get
busy and then after you know what they
say at long last we’ve got some
beautiful weather and I haven’t hit a
golf ball or weather hook and I don’t
know when man I gotta have some R&R I
gotta have some rest and relaxation and
you know you said you can’t work all the
time I mean an individual needs some
time with himself
wait’ll I relax a little bit of man then
I really get after it and finally they
get after a little bit you know or when
they have the fun and relaxation then
they say well it’s almost time for the
kids to get out of school and that’s
where we came in as we’d say down-home
folks you can put this in your pipe and
smoke it cause it’s the truth
the people who wait for ain’t Mathilda
to move out or John to get on the
day-shift are the new models to come out
are the new mayor to come in are for the
new advertising campaign to get started
the people who wait on the new senator
in Washington are until inflation slows
are the rate of interest come down the
people who wait for changes to take
place out there before they do the
changin in here our flat gonna end up
getting cooked in the squat
rule is simple you do it now you do it
now have a mind that is open to
everything and attached to nothing one
of the central principles of my life is
that no one knows enough to be a
pessimist about anything and that each
and every one of us when we close our
mind to what is possible for us or what
is possible for Humanity closes off the
genius that resides and lives in each
and every one of us having an open mind
doesn’t necessarily mean finding fault
with all of the things that you’ve been
taught by others it means opening
yourself up to the potentiality and the
possibility that anything and everything
is possible so having a mind that is
open to everything and attached to
nothing really means finding within
ourselves the ability to get rid of a
trait that I find so common in
contemporary in the contemporary world
do you know that most people that I meet
spend their lives looking for occasions
they actually are app out there hoping
that they can find some reason to be
offended and there’s no shortage of
reasons they’re out there everywhere the
way this person dressed of what the
worst person said they turn on their TV
they hear the news are offended by this
someone didn’t someone use language that
they didn’t like someone doesn’t share
the same customs at you and people
all day long in fact if you keep track
tomorrow you will find probably a
hundred reasons that you can go around
being offended but a mind that is open
to everything and attached to nothing is
a mind that says I’m never looking for
anything to be offended by and that
whatever anybody else out there has to
say my response to that is that’s an
interesting point of view I’ve never
considered that before how many of you
feel like I’ve made this talk before can
I see your hand please
several hundred times I made it
yesterday you know what I did between
yesterday and today I spent over six
hours getting ready for today you see I
think it would be arrogant if I thought
I could stand up and spit it out just
because I did it yesterday are hundreds
of times that’s arrogance that’s when
Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson
that’s when an expansion team in Houston
beats an established NFL team in Dallas
look at the people here several thousand
I’m taking over an hour – that’s several
why would my integrity be if I came here
unprepared to make something a
presentation that could make a
difference in your life there is no way
you gotta prepare for it ladies and
gentlemen well now that we can see how
short life really can be what are you
gonna do with the rest of your life
that’s the biggest trigger that I have
ever experienced what are you gonna do
the rest of your life and what I had to
do so I had to start taking some of my
own advice I have been telling people I
had written about it for a very long
time that if you’re doing something that
you’re not totally committed to if
you’re doing something that you’re not
totally passionate about you’re
compromising yourself every day I was
presentable but I wore the same two
suits I had two suits man that I had to
wear every day for a year one blue one
grape the joke around the office started
oh that’s Chris garden that he’s
reenacting the silver war some days with
almost did not go to the most important
sales meeting I would ever have missed
that’s that morning I awakened I’d been
up there in Charlotte all day long at a
meeting it didn’t learn anything five
o’clock the alarm clock goes off and it
was an alarm clock in those days now
it’s an opportunity clock if I’m here
that means I’ve got an opportunity to
get up and go if I can’t hear that
minute done got up and gone we’ll anyhow
when off we were living in little three
room apartment above a grocery store
five o’clock well it was horrible
when the clock went off you know I
looked at and I said no sane person
would ever get a little Crosley
automobile without a heater in weather
like this and drive all the way to
Charlotte to go to another meeting so I
lay back down as I lay down the words of
my mother came back to me son if you
work for a man you work for him all the
way you’re loyal to him in every
and if your word is no good you’re no
good I had promised this company which
had taken me two months to get the job
that if they would give me the
opportunity I’d be at ever sales meeting
I’d be there were training session and
in two and a half years despite my lack
of success I’ve been at every sales
meeting at every training session and
I’ve never even been late the words that
my mother came back I rolled out of bed
went to the meeting that’s the one that
changed my life how did it change your
life what it changed my life because
that’s the day that mr. marrow persuaded
me that I could be the champion circle
oh man it sure did and so it made all the difference in the world
Please follow and like us: